Recipe For Laughter

On May 11, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Family Life, Photos9 Comments

Tonight my toddler came up with his own recipe. Impressive, right?

“What a little chef!” exclaims Grandma over the internet. “Un petit gourmét!” coos a French food connoisseur who stumbled unwittingly into Crazy Land.

But wait! Before your hearts swell with pride at the culinary prowress of my two year old, read what it is he made. A very simple recipe, with 4 steps:

1. Pick up baby bowl of fruit salad.

2. Dump into little bowl of alphagetties.

3. Add a cup of berry punch.

4. Laugh. Repeat in reverse order…ish. Laugh more.

Of course his four big sisters loved the performance, which only aggravated the èncores….

Sigh….well, at least he likes to help with the dishes!

Early Evening Glory

On May 8, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Photos6 Comments

Last week, after a vivacious spring day of intense showers interspersed with golden sunshine pouring through steely grey clouds, I snuck out while my kids were having their bedtime snack to drink in the early evening glory of the garden.

I love the peppery purple scent of lupins…they always make me think of high school graduation because they were blooming abundantly in our back yard when I was finishing grade 12. We took pictures of me in my velvet green ( :> !) grad dress in front of a pink, purple and blue sea of lupins in our garden.

Everything is glorious after the rain…the delicate ferns curling their fingers artistically…the billowy cotton candy clouds that look so bouncy and fluffy you could surely dance on them, if you could only get up there….the little pansy playing peekaboo underneath the blooming thyme bush.
Is it any wonder, with a garden like this (I take no credit; it’s my green-thumbed and maybe even fingered landlord) that taking out the compost is my favourite chore?

Wishing you all a beautiful Mother’s Day Weekend, with many flowers and gorgeous sunsets!

Little Souls Like Shooting Stars

On May 3, 2015May 4, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Poetry, Stillbirth3 Comments

All this pain, Lord

all these broken hearts

broken open and flowing with beauty

Heaven escaping like steam from the geysers of love

that rush out of these parents’ broken hearts

2.6 million a year stillborn….

An overwhelming quiet

A heart stopping silence

Why is it that we must be broken to become more beautiful?

To finally reach out and connect

to honour each other’s pain

to realize each person is precious

and irreplaceable?

How mysterious this growing in love

that in losing the ones we love most

we become more loving

that in suffering we become more divine

just as You became human

to suffer with us

that we should never

no matter what

feel alone

Living in pain

we no longer live for ourselves

but for those we long for

and for those who are also broken by yearning

for little ones lost too soon

Our life is gift

and it is meant to be fruitful

We are not here for ourselves

but for others

to hold each other up with webs of love and hope

sparkling with dew-like tears

Above in the sky

a sound like thunder

a thousand angels’ wings

accompanying with solemn joy

the little souls who enter Heaven like shooting stars

and light up the sky

Never to fade

never to disappear

a light in the heavens always

Unique

irreplaceable

individuals

who will inspire us forever

Let us all become saints

so we can join them one day

and shed light into the shadows of a suffering world

Honouring International Bereaved Mother’s Day

On May 3, 2015May 3, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn motherhoodLeave a comment

May 3rd is international bereaved Mother’s Day. It is an important and beautiful opportunity to acknowledge all the mothers around the world who have suffered loss through miscarriage, stillbirth, child loss or painful struggles with infertility.

It is a chance to share grief and hope, to reach out and be vulnerable, to connect, to encourage, and to honour the women whose mother’s hearts are suffering deeply.

Every baby is, in the words of Still Life Canada, “a unique and irreplaceable individual.” It is fitting that we honour their passing with our whole hearts. Sometimes sharing your grief is the first step to allowing others to share theirs, too, and beginning to heal. Let’s break the silence with gentle words of love. Also, the Mothering Your Heart program is a lovely way to connect with other bereaved moms, be encouraged and supported in your journey of grief and healing. There is a Facebook page to share with other moms if you like, and a series of helpful emails you can receive each day leading up to Mother’s Day, with gentle ideas on self-care and nurturing your wounded heart, honouring your baby and seeking the stillness in which to discover the still, small voice of hope…. Wishing you all peace, strength, healing and hope…

With all my heart,

Anna

Mummy of Josephine, my little star in Heaven

Quick and Easy Pesto Pasta Salad

On May 1, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Yummy in the Tummy1 Comment

Here’s a simple recipe for a nice pasta salad you can have on hand in your fridge to pull out for a quick lunch or to bring along to a potluck.

Ingredients:

~one package spiral pasta/rotini, cooked and cooled

~a few tablespoons pesto

~one chopped sweet pepper (yellow, orange or red)

~1/3 cup crumbled sheeps feta (or other)

~1/4 cup chopped assorted olives, such as kalamata, royal, or sundried

~small handful of fresh parsley and fresh basil, chopped

~fresh ground pepper

Steps:

1. Cook and cool pasta, leaving it slightly firm. I used whole wheat this time, but rainbow spiral pasta (coloured by mixed vegetables) is also nice.

2. Wash and chop pepper and fresh herbs.

3. Mix pasta with pesto.

4. Chop olives and remove any pits.

5. Add sweet pepper, herbs and olives to pasta in a big bowl, crumble in feta, ground in a bit of fresh pepper and mix.

6. Enjoy right away or put in the fridge for later! 🙂

My Penny is Worth a Million Bucks

On April 30, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Friendship, motherhood, PoetryLeave a comment

Some people think they know about pennies…
shiny bright little things that make children happy

and help them dream dreams of being big,

the kind of thing you carry in your pocket

just for luck.

But they know nothing of richness

of real treasure

unless they know my Penny.

My Penny is worth a million bucks.

She is the kind one whose eyes I can see twinkle

even over the phone as I call, yet again, to say,

“So, are you bored without me?”

She is the one who makes me tea

when I arrive in a fluster

of post-transit with kids business

and sit my big belly down

in the office sofa seat.

She is the one who knows,

(6 babies later)

everything about me,

and with her magic spinning wheel

tells me when the latest Eastland will arrive.

She is the one who gives the kids stickers—

their favourite part—

besides getting to push the Doppler button

and hearing the new babies heartbeat,

and certainly reason enough

for them to request a new sibling

every year or two…

So my beautiful, wonderful Penny

know how much you are loved

and that you will always be

part of the birth story of all my children,

and more than that,

ever a part of our family.

If you promise to come

and have tea with us at our house

we will even give you a sticker!

The Children Have Officially Eaten My Brain!

On April 29, 2015April 30, 2015 By Anna EastlandIn Friendship, motherhood17 Comments

So being a busy, scatterbrained mom I tend to be running a little behind, and it’s quite a feat to actually get anywhere on time. But today I set a new record…I can’t say for being on time really…but for extreme earliness.

I was determined, whatever it took, to make it to my dear friend Penny’s retirement dinner. She has been the secretary at my midwifery clinic for all my 6 children, so she has known me since the earliest days of my motherhood. She has always been there for me with her attentive warmth and kindness. I really wanted to honour her today by coming with a hug, a gift, and a poem.

So I scrambled to find babysitting, called up and down my phone list, and finally found help in my kind upstairs neighbours. After getting the kids ready for bed and settled in with a movie, I threw on a dress, necklace and heels and ran out the door. Literally.

On the sky train I wrote Penny’s poem: “My Penny is Worth a Million Bucks,” grinning that I got it done just on time…then I scooted as fast as my heels would carry me, scrambling down shortcuts and asking directions from friendly folks outside their house.

By the time I got to the pub I was over an hour late…but better late, than never, right? Inside it was very quiet and none of the staff had heard of Penny’s retirement dinner. At all. Oh, dear….
Beginning to worry I checked the online invitation. I’m sure it was on Wednesday, I’m sure! Oh! Oh! It was next Wednesday. Which is also next month! I was one week early, and not even in the right month. A world’s biggest idiot sign glowed brightly above my head as I slunk quietly out the door.

That’s it! The children have officially eaten my brain. What was left of it. No wonder they’re hungry all the time! Anyway, kicking myself and laughing I took a selfie to prove my ridiculousness:

Then, like a good mom with free time on her hands, I went a shopped a sale at Gymboree, and brought home some summer clothes for the kids. And then like a good blogger I worked on this post on the bus ride home. Now I just have to work on being a good invitation reader…

Well, I hope this made Katie from Australia laugh, because she writes the best “fail” posts, and this day was sure a big belly flop! But if it made you laugh than it was a worthy misadventure…

(See Katie’s crazy stories if days gone wrong at https://laptopontheironingboard.wordpress.com/category/fail-2/)

And at least I got Penny’s poem done…in my traveling studio….ehem, sky train….which is actaully a much less distracting atmosphere than my house.
Tomorrow, after I put my silly self with my sore feet to bed, I’ll share Penny’s poem with you all.

Goodnight, sleep well, and may your brain be with you!

(I hear it’s nice…)